Toyota Forced To Halt All Production Across Japan

Toyota has been forced to suspend production at all 14 Japanese assembly plants due to a system failure that prevents the automaker from ordering parts. This is a big problem because Toyota pioneered and still utilizes a just-in-time inventory management system, which keeps minimal component inventory on hand to reduce costs but threatens production flow when there are supply issues.

The cause of the malfunction is still unknown, but a spokesperson toldReutersthat the cause is "likely not due to a cyberattack."

Toyota shut down 12 assembly plants on Tuesday morning local time before closing the last two in the afternoon.

It's unclear how much of an impact this will have on production numbers, butReuterscalculates that all 14 plants account for roughly a third of Toyota's global production. Japanese plants averaged around 13,500 vehicles per day in the first half of 2023, excluding cars produced by the Toyota group's Daihatsu and Hino. Vehicles like theToyota Siennawill not be affected as they are produced here in the USA.

While Toyota thinks it is unlikely that this malfunction was caused by a cyberattack, it would not be anything new. Last year,一个suspected cyberattackforced Toyota to close all 28 assembly lines at all 14 factories.